My, How Things Have Changed
by nicole-elocin
Summary: He's getting ready for his second wedding, trying to provide a good life for his first child, and figuring out a way to deal with his only true love. FutureFic. C/OC, C/B.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Really Got It Bad **

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sooo, I decided to start a new story. It's going to be a future fic, but for those of you who may wonder, it's not a sequel to Radar. I'm going to wait a while before doing one of those.  
This chapter is a bit short, but I just wanted to introduce things. It may not add up, but I promise that it will eventually. Enjoy. : )

* * *

"May I help you?" asked the receptionist that sat behind the front desk. She had just hung up the phone and looked up to see a man waiting impatiently for her.

"Is Nathaniel Archibald in?" he asked, his hand now resting on the desk as he leaned forward slightly.

"Mr. Archibald is in a meeting at the moment. Would you like to leave a message for him?" She knew that Nate wasn't actually in a meeting; it was just the time of the day where he told her that he preferred to be left alone. The only time he was to be disturbed was in an extreme emergency.

"Uh, yes. Tell him that Charles Bass stopped by and that I'd like if he gave me a call later." He then gave the receptionist his phone number, resisting his urge to tell her that she should give him a call sometime too.

"I'll be sure to do that, Mr. Bass," she told him, a small smile crossing over her lips. She knew who he was, since she had heard the name quite a few times before. There were a lot of clubs around the city that he owned, along with a couple of hotels. "Hope to see you again soon."

He may have been thirty years old and a more serious man, but he still managed to charm women, even when he wasn't trying.

* * *

Chuck Bass would call most women crazy for asking him to go shopping with them, but this woman was different. The last thing that he'd want was to make her upset. However, even if he was shopping with her and buying everything that she wanted, she wasn't happy that his daughter was tagging along with them. He tried to explain that he couldn't just leave her alone. A nanny just wasn't an option, because he refused for his daughter to always be away from him. He wasn't going to let himself turn in to his father anymore than he already did.

"Corinne!" he snapped when he noticed her running her hands over some of the expensive dresses. "Get back here," he said, holding his hand out for her to take.

"I told you that we shouldn't bring her here, Charles," Haleigh sighed. "If we just got a nanny, she'd be fine walking around the park and playing while we had to do important things. Do you know how frustrating it is to have her come with us?"

He rolled his eyes at her as Corinne took his hand, struggling to keep up with him as they walked through the store. Haleigh was already five steps ahead, looking around for things that she wanted to try on. Chuck felt awful for his daughter, who was as bored as he was. The only time she expressed any interest in shopping was when she saw something that sparkled.

They walked through the store for about twenty more minutes until Haleigh declared that it was time for her to go try stuff on. Chuck and Corinne stood outside the dressing room waiting for her, both wanting it to just be over already.

"Why doesn't she like me?" Corinne asked, pouting up at her father as she played with his Marc Jacobs sunglasses. They were unbelievably large on her, making her even more adorable than she already was.

"She does like you. She's just stressed out," he insisted. "All will be good after the wedding, I promise." Okay, so the wedding was still about a year away, but Haleigh liking Corinne was better late than never.

She sighed and took the glasses off, handing them back to her father. He knew how much she hated it when there was someone who didn't like her. She was like her mother in that way, except she didn't turn in to a total bitch and start snapping at him. Chuck didn't doubt that once she turned in to a teenager she'd be a bitch, though. Most women were.

"Aunt Serena!" Chuck's head snapped up when he heard Corinne yell.

What the hell was his step-sister doing there? The last he heard from his father, she was in Puerto Rico with her latest boy toy. Things hadn't worked out with Brooklyn Boy so many years ago, and ever since then, she had reverted to her old ways. He couldn't say that he wasn't proud of her for being a whore and admitting it. He liked her better that way.

"Corinne, shush. No yelling in stores," he told her.

He wasn't in the mood to talk to Serena, but it was too late, since she was already rushing over to give her niece a hug. She may have not treated Chuck like family, but she certainly treated Corinne like she was.

"I thought you guys were on the West Coast!" she exclaimed after letting go of Corinne. The seven year-old was now smoothing out her pink dress, as she had been taught by her mother that appearance was everything.

Chuck shrugged. "Things change. We needed a different pace. Anyways, what're you doing here?"

"Just shopping with Bl-"

She didn't even need to finish her sentence. He knew what she was going to say, because that was _just his luck_. He could see the brunette walking up behind Serena, and he cringed. However, maybe it was better that they were running in to each other at a store. It meant that she wouldn't slap him, because if she did, there was probably some way that it would be bad for her reputation.

"Bass," she sneered, giving him a critical once over before noticing the little girl who was standing in front of Serena. "So I guess this is your kid," she said.

Serena raised an eyebrow, and it was clear that she was curious about how Blair could've known that the girl was Chuck's daughter. It couldn't have been just a lucky guess, could it? Serena thought that the two of them hadn't seen each other since the end of high school.

"Corinne Grace Bass," she announced, causing Chuck to laugh slightly. It amazed him how proud his daughter was just because she got to say her full name.

"Well, it's lovely to meet you. How old would you be, Corinne?" Blair asked, leaning down so she could be on the same level as her.

"Seven years old," she said. She had a bright smile now, the gap on the left side of her mouth showing where a tooth used to be.

Blair shot Chuck a dirty look, but he was looking at the ground to avoid her. Listening to her tone of voice was bad enough for him. It killed him to feel this guilty.

"Seven, huh? Wow, _Chuck_, you must've been a father young. What did you do? Impregnate some W-H-O-R-E?" She could only hope that Corinne didn't know how to spell dirty words yet.

"No, _Blair_. It was actually my wife. I'm surprised that you didn't hear about it," he said, gritting his teeth. He looked up at her now, upset that she was trying to make him seem like an idiot. He was one of the most successful men his age, and it was insulting for her to say that he could've gotten some slut pregnant.

"Oh, really? You were married? How did that go?" she asked, holding one hand on her hip.

Corinne took the opportunity to butt in to the conversation. "Mommy lives in France now with Frederick."

Blair was visibly pleased with this, until she saw Haleigh exit the dressing rooms and come over to them. She took Chuck's hand and linked their fingers.

"What's going on?" Haleigh asked, looking up at him, then over at Serena and Blair.

"Nothing. This is my step-sister Serena, and... this is Blair. We used to go to high school together." There was no need for him to mention anything about the history that he had with Blair. That would only worry Haleigh and cause her to think something was going on. "Blair, Serena, this is my fiance Haleigh."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Goodbye Apathy**

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wanted to make this longer, again, but I came down with a cold and I figured that I may as well keep it at this because... I don't know when I'll get around to writing anymore. Hope you enjoy. : )

* * *

"You said that he got divorced!" Blair yelled at Serena once they were inside her apartment. On the taxi ride back, it had been _very_ visible that she was about to explode and was just waiting to be in private so no one could witness it other than Serena.

"He did get divorced! He _is _divorced, Blair. He's just... getting married again," she shrugged, putting her shopping bags down on the floor. By the time she looked up, Blair was already stomping in to the kitchen to find something to drink.

She poured herself a glass of the first booze she could find, and quickly downed it. "He's not allowed to have a better life than me, Serena. He's supposed to be miserable and single and lonely, not happy with his new slut and daughter. What is wrong with the world? What happened to Karma?" she complained.

Blair had been so excited when Chuck's daughter said something about her mother living in France, because she thought it meant he was finally getting what he deserved. His wife left him. Nothing could be better than that. However, she was not so pleasantly surprised when that damn red-head came out of the changing rooms, a sly smile on her face as she linked fingers with Chuck. And that ring! God damnit, he wasn't supposed to buy such a perfect ring. He was supposed to get the most ugly thing ever and force his new gold digger to wear it or else he'd take away all of her priviliges.

"Blair, why does it matter? You have a perfectly great life. You're successful and... you were happy until you saw Chuck. Don't let him get to you. It's been like twelve years," Serena reminded her, leaning up against the counter in the kitchen. "Is there a reason you're so upset? You almost seem jealous."

She scoffed as she poured herself another drink. "Jealous? Why would I be jealous of Chuck Bass and that stupid bitch? I just feel bad for the girl. I mean, who in their right mind would want to marry Chuck Bass? He's not exactly the most committed guy on the planet."

"He's changed. You should see him with Corinne at the holidays. He actually seems... sweet." And that was saying something, since Serena _never_ said nice things about him unless they were true.

Blair shot a dirty look at Serena, as if to warn her not to say one thing more.

* * *

As soon as Corinne fell asleep at around 9 o'clock and the apartment was clean, Chuck sat down on the couch in the living room beside Haleigh. Some old movie was on, and Haleigh was wrapped up in a blanket, looking like she was ready to fall asleep. Chuck watched her for a moment before he pulled her on to his lap and took her left hand, placing soft kisses on it, his eyes fixed on the ring that he bought for her three months ago. She let out gentle giggles and shifted so she was more comfortable sitting on him. Not many people knew how sweet he could be to her, since he had a tendency to be rude and controlling in public.

"You're so cute," Haleigh laughed, smiling at him. He made a face and let go of her hand, flipping her so she was laying on the couch and he was settled on top of her.

"Not cute," he insisted. He hated that word, especially when it was being used to describe him. 

His hands slid underneath her shirt as he began to kiss her neck. She tilted her head back and she gave him more access to her neck.

After he kissed it a couple of times, she finally asked, "What was up with that girl today?"

Chuck glanced up and gave her a puzzled look. "What girl?"

"Oh, don't play stupid. It doesn't suit you," she started. "You know who I'm talking about. That brunette we ran in to at the store. She kept giving me dirty looks," Haleigh explained, sitting up now. He opened his mouth to begin talking, but she interrupted him. "Don't say that she wasn't, because she totally was. What's her problem?"

He just groaned and got up from the couch, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks a lot, mood killer," he sighed. "My relationship with Blair is complicated. You don't want to get in to it."

"Yes, I do want to get in to it. I think some girl hating on me when I don't even know her is a pretty big deal, Charles. Does she like you, or something? I thought you guys were in _high school_ together." Haleigh stood up now as well, hands on her hips. He could tell that she was trying to act intimidating, but he had seen the act one too many times before and it no longer worked on him.

"She doesn't like me, she just... doesn't like other people having her things. Maybe she thinks of me as a possession," he lied, hoping that she would fall for it.

Haleigh wrinkled up her nose, before giving in and believing his explanation. "Well, she better get used to it. Why don't we invite her to the wedding? It seems like you guys had a pretty bad past from the death glares you sent her, and I know how much you like your revenge."

Ah, Chuck knew there was a reason why he loved Haleigh. She could be great sometimes, especially when she brought up childish revenge plots... and when she'd jump him after their silly little arguments.

* * *

The next morning, Haleigh left early for work before even getting to have breakfast with the family. To be honest, Chuck didn't mind that much. He enjoyed the father-daughter bonding time that he got.

He poured a glass of orange juice and pushed it across the bar to where Corinne was sitting up on a stool. It didn't make sense to him, but sometimes she would refuse to sit at a table while she ate. She wanted to be a grown up who hung out at bars. Like father, like daughter.

"Thank you, Daddy," she said, bringing the glass to her lips and taking a sip.

Chuck leaned against the bar and watched her eat the food, acting more sophisticated than some adults he knew. "You're only seven, you know. You should act like a kid."

"I'm practicing for when I'm older," she explained after she chewed a piece of pancake.

"Just because I act fancy sometimes doesn't mean that you have to. I'd prefer if you were a fun-loving little girl instead of a stuck-up Upper East Side princess in the making. You don't want to turn out like your Aunt Serena, do you?" he asked.

Corinne frowned, shaking her head from side to side. Her little brown curls bounced all over the place, reminding Chuck of Blair when she was younger. She had the exact same attitude, too. She wanted to be the perfect little kid, but be a complete adult as well. It was absolutely adorable, but at the same time Chuck wanted to yell at Corinne because he couldn't handle thinking about Blair. Seeing her yesterday was bad enough for him.

"I want to be blonde like Aunt Serena. She's pretty," Corinne observed as she finished off her glass of juice.

Chuck laughed and walked over to the other side of the bar. "Corinne, you are _so_ much more pretty than she is." He lifted her up from the stool and put her over his shoulder. "Come on. You have to get ready for school." He took her to her bedroom, unable to stop himself from laughing as he heard her high-pitched giggles and squeals.

* * *

It was his third call of the day, yet the receptionist insisted every time that Mr. Archibald was busy. Bull shit. No one was busy that much, not even Chuck. He just couldn't understand why Nate was avoiding him now. They hadn't seen each other in a long time, and Chuck expected Nate to be happy about his return. They had been best friends, after all.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Bass. He's still in a meeting, but I assure you, I will tell him that you called," the receptionist told him in a voice that showed how hard she was trying not to act frustrated. It was filled with fake sweetness, the kind you used when someone gave you a present for your birthday that you hated but wanted to remain polite.

He groaned and hung up the phone, leaning back in to the couch. Right now, he actually felt like going to work where he could yell at some interns who constantly messed up what they were supposed to be doing. However, he knew that it would be pointless because in an hour he'd have to leave and pick up Corinne from school anyways. He got up from the couch and moved about the apartment, searching for something to do. He still had yet to find anything when the phone began to ring.

"Hello?" he answered, hopeful that it would be Nate.

"Mr. Bass, there is a Miss Waldorf down here requesting to be let up. I told her that you didn't accept visitors but--"

Blair? What the hell did she want?

He stumbled over his words for a minute before shaking himself out of it and just saying, "It's fine. Go ahead and send her up."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Debate Because It's Over**

Blair took a few steps in to the apartment, gazing around. As much as she would hate to admit it, it was nice and not as tacky as she would've hoped. There were tons of pictures on the wall, most of them with Corinne or Chuck, but there were a couple with Haleigh, who looked happier than ever in all of them. It was strange for Blair to see Chuck in photos, seeing as when they were in high school he used to despise them. He snapped at most people who pointed a camera in his direction, and in the rare occasion that he let them take a picture, he would still never smile.

She continued to walk down the hallway, until she passed through the entry way that lead in to living room and kitchen area. Chuck was seated at the bar, drinking something that Blair could only _assume_ was scotch.

"You realize it's two in the afternoon, don't you, Bass?" she asked. "A bit early to start drinking."

He turned to look at her, and rolled his eyes. "Figured I should prepare myself for whatever you want," he replied. "Would you like something to drink? Or is this going to be one of your short visits?"

"Oh, it's certainly a short visit," she assured him. She moved over to the bar and sat down, watching as he finished the rest of the scotch.

"Blair, what do you want?" he groaned. It was hard for him to put up an act that said he didn't care when her eyes were burning in to them like that.

"I want to know why you're back in town. You were supposed to leave _for good_," Blair hissed. She frowned as he let out a short laugh.

"Come on. I couldn't stay away forever. It's been eight years. Can't you get over it yet?" he asked. "I have, and I don't understand why you wouldn't be able to."

"You're over it because you're not the one who was screwed, Chuck. Do you know how fucked up you made everything?" she snapped, slowly going from her talking voice to her yelling voice that he knew so well.

"You knew what you were getting yourself in to. I didn't force you to do anything. It was bull shit that you made me leave in the first place. My daughter deserves to live in New York City. I couldn't stand the West Coast, and I thought it was ridiculous to let you control me from across the country. Get fucking used to me being here, Blair. I'm not leaving again," he told her, now clenching his jaw.

She shook her head from side to side, unable to believe what a jerk he was. So much for being different like Serena had said. He seemed like the same old Chuck Bass to her.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any worse," Blair scoffed, getting up and smoothing out her jacket.

"Did you honestly think that you were going to get me to leave again? I may have been easy the first time, but things change," he said, following her example and standing up as well.

"After what you did to me? Yes, I did. I thought you'd realize how awful you were, and that it would be best if I was left alone, because even after eight years, it hurts. Nobody forgets about being hurt that much." They stood in front of each other, staring in to each other's eyes and Blair thought that she saw something inside of Chuck break.

He stuffed his hands in to his pockets and let out another loud and frustrated groan. "What do you want for me? I can't leave New York. It's my home. I already told you a _million_ times how sorry I am. I didn't mean for things to work out the way that they did."

"I just hope you realize that you hurt me, and unless you leave, I'm going to find a way to hurt you too. You know how I enjoy my revenge. It was the thing we always had in common," she said, turning around. "Bye, Bass," she called out as she walked down the picture-coated hallway once again. Haleigh's big smiles didn't seem so intimidating anymore.

* * *

_Nine Years Ago 

* * *

_

Chuck watched her from where he lay on the bed, his arms folded behind his head. She was hurrying to get dressed, muttering to herself in the process. If Chuck was supposed to go to work that day, he would've been doing the exact same thing, except his muttering would be a hell of a lot louder and he wouldn't be reminding himself of what he had to do, he'd just be flat out swearing. Thank God, he didn't have to go to work, though. He got to relax all day long.

"Where's my thong?" she groaned at him, getting down on her hands and knees to look under the bed.

He raised an eyebrow at her and then looked around the room. "You were wearing one?" he asked, partly just because he didn't remember her wearing one, and partly because he was Chuck Bass and being perverted was his 'thing'.

"You think I wasn't wearing anything? God, that's so 2007," she said, finally retrieving what she was looking for from under the bed.

He shrugged, watching as she pulled it on underneath her skirt. "I wasn't paying much attention to what you were wearing. I was more concentrated on trying to get it off," he told her.

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him as she moved over to the side of the bed he was laying on. Leaning down, she kissed his lips gently.

"What should I tell people when they ask why my hair is all messed up?" she asked, placing one of her hands on his shoulder.

"That your husband happened to grab you after your shower and we had rough, yet equally passionate wake-up sex." Chuck wrapped his hand around her wrist and went to pull her down again before she slapped it away.

"Come on. You know I have to go to work. We'll... have some more fun when I'm done for the day," she promised.

She began to walk from the room, but stopped briefly in the doorway. He stretched his arms above his head before noticing that she had stopped.

"Oh, right. I love you, Natalia," he told her once he realized that was what she was waiting for.

She turned her head and flashed him a weak smile. "See, that wasn't too hard, was it?" she asked, though it was quite obviously rhetorical. 

With that, she left the room, her head held high, and her dark bra showing through her shirt. Normally, Chuck would be polite enough to tell her about it and warn her about what people may think of her, but he figured that just today, it would be suitable for his wife to be called a slut behind her back.

* * *

Chuck yawned as he lifted his fist and knocked on the door a couple of times. It was around lunch time, and most people would be grabbing something from their fridge or going out to get something to eat, but he had other plans. His wife tried calling him once or twice, but he hit the ignore button and allowed it to go to his voice mail. Her messages to him just said 'Hey baby, I'm on my lunch break. What're you doing?', give or take some frustrated sighs. Now, his phone was completely off, seeing as he didn't feel like having to press 'ignore' any more. Perhaps Natalia would finally catch the hint that he wasn't going to answer it.

It took a few seconds for the door to be opened and for Chuck to be pulled inside, the door slammed shut behind him. He forced out a laugh as he rubbed his neck, since he had been pulled in by his collar.

"Nobody is out there, you know. You don't have to be so..." He searched for the right word for how she was being. "Forceful. There's a time and a place for that, Blair."

"Forgive me if I didn't want any of _Natalia's_ friends to see you," she said, making sure to mock Chuck's wife by saying her name in the heavy Spanish accent that she possessed.

Chuck grinned, placing his hands low on her hips. Her paranoia was worse than his, but he assumed that was because he was used to doing this sort of sneaking around. Blair still insisted that if they could get caught in high school, they could get caught now. He figured that he should probably tell her the only reason everyone found out in high school was because he texted Gossip Girl, but it was so long ago that it hardly mattered any more.

"Please. They think she's the whore in the relationship, not me. If they expected anyone to be having an affair, it would be her," he assured Blair.

She let out a deep, relieved sigh and put her hand on his neck, rubbing it gently.

"Sorry for hurting your neck," she apologized, pursing her lips in to a fake pout.

"I think I can manage to forgive you," he teased. "Only if you promise not to do it again."

"Oh, I promise," she said in a low voice, taking a few steps backwards in the direction of the living room.

Chuck followed slowly, his eyes connected with hers the entire time. He pushed her down on to the sofa once they were in the living room, settling down on top of her. It was Blair's first instinct to wrap her legs around him and press a soft kiss on his lips. The kiss grew deeper while Chuck's hands roamed her body, and Blair pulled him closer. He broke the kiss after a couple of moments, smiling down at her.

"Did you know that I never thought it was possible for a woman to be so beautiful in a pair of jeans and an old shirt?" he whispered, sliding his thumbs underneath the waistband of her jeans.

She smiled back at him as her arms circled around his neck. He was sweet and amazing to her, but deep down, he knew that she wasn't completely happy with all aspects of their relationship, if you could even call it that.

"You're not looking too bad yourself, Bass," she giggled as she shifted her hips against him.

Their eyes connected again, and Chuck swore that he saw a hint of sadness in Blair's. She chewed on her bottom lip, the corners of it turning up in a weak smile.

"I love you," she said softly.

"I love you too," he replied without hesitation.

It felt nice not having to say it just because he was expected to, but because he actually meant it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Sway**

* * *

"Well, the instructions seem pretty simple to me. You pee on the stick, and if it's blue, you're pregnant."

Chuck raised an eyebrow as he stepped in to Nate's office, apparently interrupting a phone call. Nate was pacing around and running his fingers through his hair, and Chuck could tell how frustrated he was getting. Nate nodded in Chuck's direction and then gestured to a chair to tell him that he could sit down. He also held up a finger to show that he'd only be one more minute.

"You're not?" Nate spoke in to the phone after a minute or two of humming impatiently. "Oh, yeah, in a weird way, I'm sort of disappointed too," he lied as look of relief crossed over his face. "Oh, congratulations! When's the wedding?"

After hearing that, Chuck's eyes went wide. Had that much really changed with Nathaniel in the past couple of years? He didn't know that his best friend could be so... sleazy. It was pretty damn awful. Yet, strangely enough, he was almost proud that he taught Nate well.

"That's great. Alright. Bye," Nate said before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Chuck asked, leaning back in the chair he had just sat himself down in.

Nate shrugged. "Just some girl," he replied simply.

"Some girl? You got _some girl_ almost pregnant?"

"What? You've never found yourself in a slow elevator without a condom?" Nate scoffed, walking behind his desk. "Actually, never mind. You're like a walking condom advertisement."

"Only because I feared the thought of some woman tracking me down, stuffing some bratty kid in front of me and demanding child support," Chuck explained.

Nate raised an eyebrow and sat down in his chair. "Oh, so this little Corinne Bass I hear about is legitimate? Or did that nightmare come true?"

Chuck let out a deep sigh. How was it possible that he knew about Corinne already? It meant that he was talking to someone. A pang of jealousy hit him as he thought of the possibility of Blair running to Nathaniel, just like she always did. He was shaken out of his thoughts when Nate sent him an expectant glance.

"Legitimate. Definitely," he spoke quickly. "Her bitch of a mother didn't leave me until Corinne was five. It was six years of marriage more than I needed."

"Why wouldn't you just leave _her_, then? You always were a hump and dump sort of guy."

"_Was_, Nathaniel. I'm getting married again. Which reminds me of why I came here. I'd like to invite you to our engagement party next week."

More like Haleigh forced Chuck to invite him. She was intrigued by his old best friend, despite the fact that she had yet to meet him.

"I'll check my plans, and then... I'll call you, alright? But right now, I have a lunch date. Thanks for stopping by."

How lovely. Chuck had waited for days just to get an opening in to Nathaniel's schedule and their visit had only lasted a few mere minutes. Ah, at least he got to see that hot secretary again.

* * *

_Seven Years Ago_

* * *

All it took was a rough hit to the shoulder, complete with sharp nails piercing his skin, to wake Chuck up from his sleep. He grumbled a mixture of swear words as he rolled over to see who dared wake him up at this time. Standing beside the bed was Natalia, arms crossed over her chest and a piece of paper held between her two fingers. Her jaw was clenched and he knew that he must've done something wrong.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she asked in an accusing tone.

He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, putting on his best puzzled and "I don't know what the hell you're talking about" look.

"Uhhh, no," he answered.

"Don't lie to me, Chuck. What could _possibly_ be on this bill that would piss me off?" She extended her hand and waved the credit card bill she was holding in front of his face.

The name of a jewelery store stuck out like a sore thumb, and he cringed at his own stupidity. He should've known better than to leave that out in the open where his wife would without a doubt find it.

"I can explain," he stammered, pulling himself up from the bed to stand in front of her.

Natalia laughed, thrusting the bill against his chest. "Go ahead. I'm just dying to hear this one. Buy jewelery for the mom you haven't seen in five years, did you? Or is it your secretary's birthday? Oh, I know, Serena's back in town with a new boyfriend and you decided to get _her_ a present," she ranted on as embarrassment and guilt bubbled up in Chuck's chest.

He needed to think up new excuses. He was begging to think that she was catching on to him.

* * *

"She's mad at me."

Blair turned her head to the side, moving her gaze from the ceiling over to Chuck. They were currently laying in her bed, an odd silence settling over the after their latest session of secretive sex. They always talked a lot about anything and everything, unless there was something wrong. And now Blair knew what that something was.

"Natalia?" she questioned for her own assurance just so she didn't misunderstand what he said next.

He gave her a short nod. "She found my credit card bill."

She swallowed her breath and then fixed her eyes on the ceiling once again.

"And she asked about the jewelery?" Blair asked, unconsciously tightening her grip on the bed sheets.

"Yes." She could feel him shifting and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that he was sitting up. "She needed to know who I was buying such expensive jewelery for."

Blair took an opportunity to point the most logical solution out, "You could've lied."

He made a noise of disgust, like he was insulted with what she said. "Do you think that I never thought of that, Blair?"

"_Hey_! No need to get pissy with me. It's your fault for leaving the bill out in the first place."

"It's your fault for needing fucking jewelery," he snapped back at her as he stood from the bed.

Blair's jaw dropped. It made her angry that he was trying to pin this on her. As she rolled her eyes, she moved from the bed as well, pulling on her robe and tightening it around her waist.

"I've tried to be understanding, Chuck. You know what? I can't do it any more. You said you didn't care about her, so why the fuck does it matter if she's mad at you? Buy her something. The stupid slut will forget it in a second," she insisted.

His head shot up now while he buttoned up his shirt. "Don't call her a slut, Blair. My _wife_ is not a slut. I wouldn't throw that word around, especially not if I was in your shoes."

If it were a cartoon, there would be steam flowing from her ears right now, or there would be a countdown to when she'd blow up and maybe-possibly-most-likely slap him for being so inconsiderate to her feelings.

"Why is it that the mistress is always the whore? You're the one that's cheating. I'm just along for the ride, my feelings being toyed with," she yelled. Her voice softened when she spoke next. "Do you even love me?"

"I-" he started, casting his gaze to the floor. "Of course I do, Blair. You just don't realize how hard this is for me. If it weren't for my position... I'd be with you in an instant, you know that."

She shook her head in a nod, understanding what he was saying. They had already been over this many times before.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

He sucked in his breath. "So am I. For everything."

* * *

_Present Time_

* * *

Corinne was dragging Chuck along behind her, her tiny hand struggling to grasp on to his. She was eager to show him her new school and the 'fascinating' things inside it. It was if she had never seen a chalk board in her life, because it just seemed so interesting to her. The explanations of everything were adorable, too. He couldn't deny that it made him happy to hear her go on about the water fountain that she had a drink from after recess, or the sink where she was forced to wash her hands before lunch. Then, there were the stories that she told. 'There was no paper towel one day' and 'Tara got her hair wet in the fountain' were amongst his favourites.

"Do you like school, Daddy?" Corinne asked, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

"Obviously. If I didn't, I wouldn't have such a good job."

It wasn't like he could just tell her that he spent most of his school days bullying, talking back to teachers and in later years smoking pot. He was trying to set a good example for her, because she looked up to him in almost every aspect. He used to dream of the day that he had a child who wanted to be him, but he never expected it to be a little girl. The child in his dreams was a spunky boy who had a dirtier mouth than he did, and high-fived Chuck every time he got a good piece of ass, because they were just that class.

That would be kind of awkward with Corinne.

"Do you want to meet Mr. H?" she asked him, pointing to a closed door with the name 'Mr. Holmes' on it.

There was also a large picture of a purple butterfly, and Chuck guessed that was how younger kids were expected to remember what room to go in to.

"Sure," Chuck shrugged, allowing himself to follow Corinne as she knocked softly on the door.

Corinne reached up and appeared to be _very_ proud of herself as she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open to reveal Mr. H in an awkward position, leaning against his desk with a woman pressed against him.

Chuck's stomach flipped when he recognized the brown curls and slim figure. What the _fuck_ was she doing with a teacher? Corinne's teacher, nonetheless.

Before he could stop himself, the words rolled off his tongue, "What the fuck is wrong with you, Blair? Jesus fucking Christ."

"Daddy!" screeched Corinne.

Her cheeks were bright red in embarrassment. He figured that he wouldn't end up embarrassing until she was a teenager, though. Guess he was wrong.

Corrine wasn't the only one blushing. The teacher was now smoothing himself down, trying desperately to recover.

"Mr. Bass! Great to finally meet you. This is Miss Waldorf but... I guess you already know her," Mr. Holmes stuttered, distancing himself from Blair, who seemed irritated that they had just been interrupted.

"Yeah, _kind of_," he replied bitterly through gritted teeth.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry that it took so so so long. School has been hell. But I forced out a chapter, and I hope it wasn't too awful. The first part of the chapter was inspired by Two and a Half Men and a conversation that Charlie had on the phone. I thought it was kind of perfect for the situation.

Anyways, for those of you who are wondering, it's alright to be confused. It's not supposed to make total sense.

I'm hoping to update again soon, depending on how bad school gets again. I swear, it's like my teachers want to torture me.


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